My first long run...

Today's mission: Base check - run as far as I can
Goal: 8 miles
Temp: low 60's, overcast

I went to a local metro park where I used to train. It has an 8 mile loop and several off-shoots to get in more mileage. The scenery is beautiful and the loop is great for training since it has a variety of hills, inclines/declines, turns, etc. I was a little nervous because I'd been having stabbing pains (scale 1-10: 6) on my left side all morning. As I was packing my bag, I was heartbroken to realize my (cute, little) iPod's battery was nearly drained and my charger was at the office. Thanks to my super cool roommate for letting me use her (cute, little) iPod Shuffle. Fun! New music to listen to!

Mile 1: 9:56
When I hit the first 1/2 mile mark, I looked at my watch and realize I was on a 10:00 pace. Hmmm.... perhaps I should slow down. I obviously didn't.

Mile 2: 9:59
Seriously, slow down. There was also a little girl on a bike that had some cotton candy (there was some sort of event going on). I was half-tempted to swipe it out of her hands and run away with it. I love cotton candy!

Mile 3: 10:04
Okay, a little bit better. But, you know what, this is a base check so what the hell. If I die, I die. Then I know where I am. The pace was comfortable, so it wasn't as if I was going out like a freak to see how fast I could go.

Mile 4: 10:09
This is the mile of the big ass hill. When I was in my prime, I could bound up it as if it were nothing. And, I did repeats on this hill. (Was I crazy!?!?) As I was starting to round the curve to get up this big ass hill with its slow, steady, pain-inducing incline the song, "We will Rock You" appropriately came on. Before, I would concentrate on form, driving my legs, light on my toes. Right. Now, the question of "Am I moving?" took over. I admit it wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be, but it was far from fun. And, when I got to the top the song, "We are the Champions" came on. Note to the iPod Shuffle god: Thanks for the unneeded irony.

Mile 5: 9:54
Hmmm....

Mile 6: 9:45
What!?!?! This is where I started to get into the rhythm. It's still odd for this former sprinter that it takes several miles to really get into it.

Mile 7: 9:58
This is where I realized that I can still run. Even though I am coming up on finishing 8 miles, the farthest I've run in a year, I have a lot of work to do. The pace was still comfortable and I didn't feel like I was ready to collapse, but my body just didn't feel strong. It didn't necessarily feel weak, it just didn't feel strong. I need to be careful and make sure I completely build my foundation before I get into too many miles. Distance is a part of this, but rebuilding my body as a whole is going to be very important.

Mile 8: 9:43
The last half mile was tough. It has a series of inclines/declines that made me lose my breath. (unless it was the cute guy I passed for the second time that smiled at me) The goal was accomplished. Weird, I thought I would be overjoyed but I think it was more of a sigh of relief.

Whoo hooo!!

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Friday I met with Joe since I was going to be out of town on Saturday. Oh, yes, he totally ditched me! I had a frantic voicemail on my phone Wednesday morning. After he told me to go warm up and he'd meet me in five minutes he COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT ME! How, I'm not quite sure. I am pretty unforgetable. :) He got busy and it completely slipped his mind. So, I'm up there running and forgot about him. He didn't realize it until he was doing a rundown in his head Wednesday morning of what his day looked like. He felt pretty bad and I gave him lots of crap for it. :)

Anyway, Friday's session was okay. The thing about training is that you have to be so dedicated. Thursday, my eating schedule, water in-take and sleep was totally thrown off so I was totally off on Friday. We did quads, calves, shoulders, tri's and abs. I bonked about 35 minutes into our workout. It was not fun. And, it just ticks me off when I'm off on the days we meet. I need to maxamize our workouts to the fullest.

So, that's the exciting weekend update on my workouts.